Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 04/01/2010 PreS-K— Cat the Cat visits her friends, asking them to make their sounds. The dog woofs, the chick peeps, the cow moos, but the bunny is silent. As Bunny the Bunny makes no response, the others look at him with sympathy and say in unison, "sounds like…somebody needs a hug!" On the one hand, the message seems to be that even if you are different, your friends still love you. On the other hand, an underlying message is that if you are different, your friends will feel sorry for you. Not quite the same as celebrating the differences. The illustrations are characteristically spare with flat, unshaded colors outlined in black. Repeated use of a pale green background on each spread ties the whole book together nicely. Using few words, Willems relies on facial expressions and body posturing to convey humor with minimal detail. Making the animal sounds concept more interesting is a secondary story line: the animals are all preparing for a tea party. Cat the Cat gaily carries a basket covered with a checked napkin as she visits each animal who in turn is preparing something to share at the party. Willems does almost everything right. Children will enjoy making animal sounds and will laugh at his silly humor. But the underlying message that differences may elicit pity is an unfortunate flaw that keeps this book from being a winner.—Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME - Copyright 2010 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.